1、大学英语四级模拟试卷 104及答案与解析 一、 Part I Writing (30 minutes) 1 1有人认为出国留学是个人发展的最佳选择； 2也有人坚持在国内也能实现自已的理想； 3. 我的看法。 On Overseas Study 二、 Part II Reading Comprehension (Skimming and Scanning) (15 minutes) Directions: In this part, you will have 15 minutes to go over the passage quickly and answer the questions a
2、ttached to the passage. For questions 1-7, mark： Y (for YES) if the statement agrees with the information given in the passage; N (for NO) if the statement contradicts the information given in the passage; NG (for NOT GIVEN) if the information is not given in the passage. 2 Can Business Be Cool? Why
3、 a growing number of firms are taking global warming seriously. Companies supporting environment protection Rupert Murdoch is no green activist. But in Pebble Beach later this summer, the annual gathering of executives of Mr Murdochs News Corporation-which last year led to a dramatic shift in the me
4、dia conglomerates attitude to the Internet-will be addressed by several leading environmentalists, including a vice-president turned climate-change movie star. Last month BSkyB, a British satellitetelevision company chaired by Mr. Murdoch and run by his son, James, declared itself “carbon-neutral“,
5、having taken various steps to cut or offset its discharges of carbon into the atmosphere. The army of corporate greens is growing fast. Late last year HSBC became the first big bank to announce that it was carbon-neutral, joining other financial institutions, including Swiss Re, a reinsurer, and Gol
6、dman Sachs, an investment bank, in waging war on climate-warming gases (of which carbon dioxide is the main culprit). Last year General Electric (GE), an industrial powerhouse, launched its “Ecomagination“ strategy, aiming to cut its output of greenhouse gases and to invest heavily in clean (i.e., c
7、arbon-free) technologies. In October Wal-Mart announced a series of environmental schemes, including doubling the fuel-efficiency of its fleet of vehicles within a decade. Tesco and Sainsbury, two Of Britains biggest retailers, are competing fiercely to be the greenest. And on June 7th some leading
8、British bosses lobbied Tony Blair for a more ambitious policy on climate change, even if that involves harsher regulation. The other side The greening of business is by no means universal, however. Money from Exxon Mobil, Ford and General Motors helped pay for television advertisements aired recentl
9、y in America by the Competitive Enterprise Institute, with the daft slogan “Carbon dioxide: they call it pollution; we call it life“. Besides, environmentalist critics say, some firms are engaged in superficial “greenwash to boost the image of essentially climate-hurting businesses. Take BP, the mos
10、t prominent corporate advocate of action on climate change, with its “Beyond Petroleum“ ad campaign, high-profile investments in green energy, and even a “carbon calculator“ on its websites helps consumers measure their personal “carbon footprint“, or overall emissions of carbon. Yet, critics compla
11、in, BPs recent record profits are largely thanks to sales of huge amounts of carbon-packed oil and gas. On the other hand, some free-market thinkers see the support of firms for regulation of carbon as the latest attempt at “regulatory capture“, by those who stand to profit from new rules. Max Schul
12、z of the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, notes darkly that “Enron was into pushing the idea of climate change, because it was good for its business“. Others argue that climate change has no more place in corporate boardrooms than do discussions of other partisan political issues, suc
13、h as Darfur or gay marriage. That criticism, at least, is surely wrong. Most of the corporate converts say they are acting not out of some vague sense of social responsibility, or even personal angst, but because climate change creates real business risks and opportunities from regulatory compliance
14、 to insuring clients on flood plains. And although these concerns vary hugely from one company to the next, few firms can be sure of remaining unaffected. The climate of opinion The most obvious risk is of rising energy costs. Indeed, the recent high price of oil and natural gas, allied to fears ove
15、r the security of energy supplies from the Middle East and Russia neither of which have anything to de with climate change may be the main reason why many firms have recently become interested in alternative energy sources. But at the same time, a growing number of bosses whatever their personal vie
16、ws about the scientific evidence of climate change now think that the public has become convinced that global warming is for real. Hurricane Katrina was particularly important in changing opinion in America. Many businessmen have concluded that this new public mood will result, sooner or later, in g
17、overnment action to control carbon emissionsmost likely, using some sort of carbon tax or Kyoto-like system of tradable caps on firms carbon emissions. A carbon-trading system is already in place in the European Union. But even in America, some influential businesses are exerting pressure on the gov
18、ernment to control carbon emissions. One motive is to help firms facing decisions that will depend for their long-term profitability on what carbon regime, if any, is in place. “Some asset-intensive industries are making investments now that have a 30-to-50-year horizon,“ says Travis Engen, who rece
19、ntly stepped down as boss of Alcan, a big aluminium firm. “As CEO, I wanted to make damn sure my investments were good for the future, not just today“which, for him, meant evaluating investments assuming that his firm would soon have to pay to emit carbon. Indeed, some expect President Bush to start
20、 thinking more about climate change after Novembers mid-term elections, especially now that he has appointed a keen environmentalist as treasury secretary Hank Paulson, who as boss of Goldman Sachs was the force behind the investment banks greener stance. “American businesses are starting to realise
21、 that something is going to happen on carbon,“ says Jim Rogers, chief executive of Duke Energy, one of the countrys biggest power producers, who reckons legislation is quite likely to pass in Congress by 2009. Companies move As firms try to do something about climate change, the typical first step i
22、s to improve their energy efficiency, by both reducing consumption and also shifting the mix of sources from hydrocarbons towards cleaner alternatives. Given high oil prices, those that have already done so have found energy efficiency to be surprisingly good for profits. “Carbon Down, Profits Up“,
23、a report by the Climate Group, an organisation founded in 2004 by various firms and governments, listed 74 companies from 18 industries in 11 countries that are committed to cutting greenhouse-gas emissions. So far, this has brought them combined savings of $11.6 billion, claims the report. Four fir
24、ms- Bayer, British Telecom, DuPont and Norske Canada account for $4 billion of this between them. Many companies, including BP, also see the chance to make money from providing things that help reduce global warming from clean coal-fired power-stations, to wind farms, to mortgages with better rates
25、for homes that are carbon-neutral. GE plans to double its revenues from 17 clean-technology businesses to $20 billion by 2010. HSBCs decision to become carbon-neutral is part of a plan to develop a carbon-finance business, both for retail consumers and corporate clients. “We believe it is a major bu
26、siness opportunity for us, not a hobby or corporate social responsibility,“ says Francis Sullivan of HSBC. And even as car firms lobby against regulating carbon, they are investing heavily in cleaner hybrid cars, Going carbon-neutral in which a firm cuts its carbon output as much as possible and the
27、n offsets any left over by paying to reduce emissions elsewhere is particularly attractive to firms that sell directly to the public and reckon that their customers want them to take climate change seriously. Since these sorts of firms are often not great carbon-emitters in the first place, “carbon
28、neutrality“ can be fairly painless. A recent study by the Carbon Trust, a British quango, reckoned that, for industries such as airlines, up to 50% of brand value may be at risk if firms fail to take action on climate change. 2 This passage is mainly about the impact of environmental issues on activ
29、ities of individual companies. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 3 More and more companies are joining in the support of limiting carbon dioxide emission because they are increasingly concerned about the harmful effect on environment and climate change. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 4 City Bank also announced its deter
30、mination to be carbon-neutral just after HSBC made its move. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 5 Although an increasing number of companies began to support limitation on emission, there are still some companies that do the opposite. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 6 There are some companies, such as BP, which are engage
31、d in superficial activities in order to boost their good images. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 7 It is believed by some companies that alternative energy sources are significant especially when the recent price of oil and natural gas rose. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 8 The author mentioned the disaster of Hurrica
32、ne Katrina because he wanted to demonstrate the harmful effects of unlimited emission of carbon dioxide. （ A） Y （ B） N （ C） NG 9 In America, some influential businesses are exerting pressure on the government to control carbon emissions because their_depends on what carbon regime is in place. 10 Gen
33、erally speaking, as firms try to do something about climate change, their typical first step is to improve their_. 11 A recent study by the Carbon Trust indicated that industries such as airlines, if they_.half of its brand value may be at risk. Section A Directions: In this section, you will hear 8
34、 short conversations and 2 long conversations. At the end of each conversation, one or more questions will be asked about what was said. Both the conversation and the questions will be spoken only once. After each question there will be a pause. During the pause, you must read the four choices marke
35、d A, B, C and D, and decide which is the best answer. （ A） European tradition. （ B） Weights and measurement. （ C） Employment. （ D） US political system. （ A） Smiths. （ B） Browns. （ C） Susans. （ D） Bob and Browns. （ A） Not getting what he wants. （ B） A custom that is new to him. （ C） Calling up custom
36、ers. （ D） Some of his good friends. （ A） He seems tired of driving from his home to his work. （ B） He prefers walking to driving. （ C） He is satisfied with driving from his home to work. （ D） The road is good but there is a lot of traffic. （ A） In a library. （ B） In a book shop. （ C） In a restaurant
37、. （ D） In a department store. （ A） A post office. （ B） A bookstore. （ C） A department store. （ D） A drug store. （ A） Father and daughter, （ B） Teacher and student. （ C） Doctor and patient. （ D） Boss and secretary. （ A） 50 minutes. （ B） 45 minutes. （ C） 15 minutes. （ D） 35 minutes. （ A） Janes colleag
38、e. （ B） Janes landlord. （ C） Janes student. （ D） Janes neighbor. （ A） One year. （ B） Seven years. （ C） Four years. （ D） Six years. （ A） Japan. （ B） Cambodia. （ C） Vietnam. （ D） China. （ A） The use of steel in building construction. （ B） Computer usage. （ C） Database on computer. （ D） Building constr
39、uction. （ A） Library. （ B） Bookstore. （ C） Computer. （ D） Tutors office. （ A） Colleagues. （ B） Tutor and student （ C） Classmates. （ D） Father and son. （ A） In a university. （ B） I? a hospital. （ C） In a factory. （ D） In a shopping center. Section B Directions: In this section, you will hear 3 short
40、passages. At the end of each passage, you will hear some questions. Both the passage and the questions will be spoken only once. After you hear a question, you must choose the best answer from the four choices marked A, B, C and D. （ A） National economy. （ B） Adult population. （ C） Young children. （
41、 D） National currency. （ A） To double last years food-aid. （ B） To raise $122 million for Iraqi people. （ C） To provide each Iraqi family with $26 a month. （ D） To help Iraqs 12 million population. （ A） 60% of its population. （ B） 70% of its population. （ C） 30% of its population. （ D） 40% of its po
42、pulation. （ A） They moved from one place to another. （ B） They came from Indonesia. （ C） They have left us information about their migrations. （ D） They preserved their sagas and legends. （ A） How Indonesia came to be inhabited. （ B） How the Polynesian islands came to be inhabited. （ C） How the Poly
43、nesian people traveled from Indonesia. （ D） How the sagas told by ancient people were written. （ A） Materials that are easy to shape. （ B） The bones of men who made tools. （ C） Stones that do not decay. （ D） Ancient tools made from stone. （ A） He could be fired. （ B） He could be put to death. （ C） H
44、e could be put in jail. （ D） He could be driven out of his village. （ A） Far away from the Queen. （ B） In front of the King. （ C） In front of the important officer. （ D） In the middle of the table. （ A） Along a railway. （ B） Along a big river. （ C） Around the palace. （ D） Along an important road. （
45、A） Salt. （ B） A horse. （ C） Rice. （ D） Ten sheep. Section C Directions: In this section, you will hear a passage three times. When the passage is read for the first time, you should listen carefully for its general idea. When the passage is read for the second time, you are required to fill in the b
46、lanks numbered from 36 to 43 with the exact words you have just heard. For blanks numbered from 44 to 46 you are required to fill in the missing information. For these blanks, you can either use the exact words you have just heard or write down the 37 The Olympic Games are held every four years, eac
47、h time in a different city. The Games begin when a runner, carrying a lighted torch brought from【 B1】 , reaches the stadium. The athletes【 B2】 against one another in various【 B3】 : they jump, cycle, swim, wrestle and show their skills in gymnastics, fencing and【 B4】 . Others test their strength and【
48、 B5】 in the difficult marathon and weightlifting. The winners do not【 B6】 any cash prizes. Instead the first three athletes in any event receive gold,【 B7】 and bronze medals. Nobody knows exactly when the first Olympic Games were held. The【 B8】 show that they took place as long ago as 776 B.C.【 B9】
49、. However, in 1896, a Frenchman started the Games again in Athens.【 B10】 . Perhaps the one important difference is that women are now allowed to compete. In fact the events for women are now very popular. At the Games, all the athletes feel honored to represent their countries. They know the friendships they form with other athletes will【 B11】 . This is the major purpose of the Olympic Games. 37 【 B1】 38 【 B2】 39 【 B3】 40 【 B4】 41 【 B5】 42 【 B6】 43 【 B7】 44 【 B8】 45 【 B9】 46 【 B10】 47 【 B11】 Sectio
